The present invention relates generally to wireless communication technology, and more particularly to a process for cancelling interference in wireless base stations with smart antenna or in user terminals.
In modern wireless communication systems, especially in code division multiple access (CDMA) wireless communication systems, smart antennas are generally used to increase system capacity, system sensitivity and communication distances using lower emission power.
The Chinese patent named xe2x80x9cTime Division Duplex Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access Wireless Communication System with Smart Antennaxe2x80x9d (CN 97 1 04039.7) discloses a base station structure for a wireless communication system with smart antennas. The base station includes an antenna array consisting of one or plural antenna units, corresponding radio frequency feeder cables and a set of coherent radio frequency transceivers. Each antenna unit receives signals from user terminals. The antenna units direct the space characteristic vectors and direction of arrival (DOA) of the signals to a baseband processor. The processor then implements beam formation by the receiving antenna using a corresponding algorithm. Among them, any antenna unit, corresponding radio frequency feeder cable and coherent radio frequency transceiver together is called a link. By using weight, getting from the up link receiving beam forming of each link in the down link transmitting beam forming, the entire functionality of smart antennas can be implemented, under symmetrical radio wave propagation.
A primary aspect of modern wireless communication systems is mobile communication. Mobile communication works within a complex and variable environment (reference to ITU proposal M1225). Accordingly, severe influences of time-varying and multipath propagation must be considered. The Chinese patent referenced above as well as many technical documents concerning beam forming algorithms of smart antenna conclude increased functionality will result with increased algorithm complexity. Nevertheless, under a mobile communication environment, beam forming must be completed in real time, and algorithm-completion time is at a microsecond level. As another limitation of modern microelectronic technology, digital signal processing (DSP) or application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) cannot implement highly complex real time processing within such short time periods.
Faced with this conflict, CDMA mobile communication systems use a simple maximum power composite algorithm. This is both simple and also can solve problems associated with the time delay of multipath component composition within a chip width. Nevertheless, in modern CDMA mobile communication systems in a mobile environment, both the time delay and amplitude of the multipath propagation component is increasing, so that interference is still severe. As a result, under a mobile communication environment, simple and real time beam forming algorithms of smart antennas not only cannot solve the multipath propagation interference problem, but also cannot thoroughly solve system capacity problems of CDMA mobile communication systems.
Technologies such as the Rake receiver and Joint Detection or Multi-User Detection have been widely studied for use in CDMA mobile communication systems in an attempt to solve interference problems associated with multipath propagation. Nevertheless, neither the Rake receiver nor multiuser detection technology can be directly used in mobile communication systems with smart antennas. Multiuser detection technology processes the CDMA signals of multiple code channels. However, smart antenna technology implements beam forming for each channel code separately, and after channel estimation and matched filter, all user terminal data are solved at the same time using an inverse matrix. So it is difficult to take advantage of the diversity provided by user multipath technology. Rake receiver technology includes user main multipath components, but it also destroys the phase relationship between antenna units of an antenna array. Another limitation of Rake receiver technology is that the user number is the same as the spread spectrum coefficient, which makes it impossible to work under full code channel circumstances.
There is a two-dimensional smart antenna technology, but it is in a research stage and its algorithm is immature and complex.
There is another method which processes multiuser detection after using smart antenna; but at this time as each code channel has been separated, processing multiuser detection must be separated for each code channel. As a result this technology not only cannot fully bring multiuser detection function into play, but also greatly increase the complexity of baseband signal processing.
To increase system capacity and improve performance for CDMA wireless communication systems, it would be helpful to provide a simple and real time interference cancellation method convenient for use in CDMA wireless communication systems based on smart antenna.
Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide an interference cancellation method based on smart antenna. The invention allows CDMA mobile communication systems or other mobile communication systems to use smart antennas and simple maximum power composite algorithms, while efficiently solving interference problems produced by multipath propagation, etc.
A further object of the invention is to provide a set of new digital signal processing methods, which can be used in CDMA mobile communication systems or other mobile communication systems, to allow the mobile communication system to solve interference produced by multipath propagation, etc., while using smart antennas.
The invention of an interference cancellation method based on a smart antenna, comprises:
a) with a beam forming matrix provided by a real time beam forming algorithm, implementing beam forming for an output digital signal of a receiver based on smart antenna and providing a set of digital signals, represented as NRk(m), after beam forming, where k represents code channels and m represents sample points;
b) canceling the main path signals of other users included in the set of digital signals NRk(m) after beam forming, and getting another set of digital signals, represented as NSk(m), which only includes needed signals and all interference signals, where k represents code channels and m represents sample points;
c) searching in digital signals NSk(m) and getting all multipath signals distributed on the formed beam direction;
d) canceling multipath interference signals coming from other users in digital signals NSk(m); and
e) superposing the main path and the multiple path signals of the working user terminals in phase coincidence to provide a digital signal with interference canceled.
In step a), the output digital signal of the receiver based on smart antenna is in sample level.
Step a) is performed in a base band signal processor. The steps include: synchronizing and eliminating over sampling of the output digital signal of a receiver based on smart antenna; de-scrambling, de-spreading and dividing it into each code channel signal; forming a receiving beam for every link with a beam forming composite algorithm in a beam former, and getting the composite results.
The beam forming algorithm can be a maximum power composite algorithm.
Step a) further comprises: demodulating the smart antenna output signal, outputted by a beam former, and detecting the signal-to-noise ratio of the training sequence. When the signal-to-noise ratio is greater than a threshold value, the receiving data is directly outputted and the procedure is ended. When the signal-to-noise ratio is less than a threshold value, the succeeding steps are executed.
Step b) further comprises: solving the main path of signals comings from other terminal users in the formed beam of working code channels; spreading the spectrum for the main path signals, adding scrambling code to the main path signals and recovering the main path signals to a sample level digital signal; and subtracting the main path signals of the other users with energy greater than a threshold value from said digital signals NRk(m) to get NSk(m).
Solving the main path of signals coming from other terminal users in the formed beam of the working code channel comprises solving the signal voltage level of the other code channels in the working code channel beam.
Step c) further comprises: moving a sample point position individually within one symbol and getting multiple sets of chip level signal; solving the correlation for them with a known scrambling code and getting multiple sets of output with energy greater than a threshold value; adding a known scrambling code to the output and recovering multipath interference of multiple sets with sample level; subtracting multipath interference coming from other users from digital signals NSk(m) from step b), superposing main path and multipath signals of the kth channel in phase coincidence and getting the kth channel sample value after interference cancellation; de-scrambling, de-spreading and demodulating sample value of the kth channel, then getting the kth channel signal after interference cancellation, where k is any positive integer.
Searching in step c) is only taken within one symbol, Searching times needed are equal to the sample numbers, within each chip, times the spread spectrum coefficient, then minus 1.
Step d) further comprises: subtracting interference digital signals, coming from other terminal users, from digital signals NSk(m) from step b) to cancel multipath interference signals coming from other terminal users.
Step d) is taken on sample level, and the signals concerned are converted to sample level signals.
Step e) further comprises: with canceling sample value of main path and multipath interference signals, coming from other users, getting each chip value; after de-scrambling and de-spreading with kth spread spectrum code, superposing main path and multipath signals coming from working terminal users in phase coincidence, then getting outputting signals after interference cancellation; after demodulating, getting needed results after interference cancellation.
Steps a), b), c), d) and e) cancel interference for all channels whose signal-to-noise ratio is less than a threshold value.
Steps a), b), c), d) and e) are used for interference cancellation in mobile communication base stations. Steps b), c), d), and e) are used for interference cancellation in user terminals.
In the method of the invention, for CDMA mobile communication systems having longer training sequences (Pilot or Midamble) in frame designed structures, as in real mobile communication systems not all working code channels are severely influenced by multipath propagation, etc., so signal quality can be pre-detected at smart antenna output, i.e., detecting signal-to-noise ratio (error code) in receiving training sequence (Pilot or Midamble). For channels for which there is no error code or the number of error codes is less than a set value, then further processing is not needed. In this way the number of channels needed to be further processed is greatly decreased and the complexity of base band signal processing is greatly degraded.
In the method of the invention, for CDMA mobile communication systems having no longer training sequence (Pilot or Midamble) in frame designed structures, or for CDMA mobile communication systems having longer training sequence (Pilot or Midamble) in frame designed structures but there are severe interference and severe error code channels, then it is necessary to use the method of the invention to cancel multipath interference in order to have correct receiving.
The method of the invention proposes a simple maximum power composite algorithm, which allows beam forming in symbolic level and can be operated in real time.
Using the new multipath interference cancellation technology of the invention, most of multipath interference coming from this channel or other channels is canceled (multipath interference that is not canceled has a time delay with integer multiple of symbol width, but its appearing probability is low). Thus interference influence of multipath propagation, etc. is canceled at a maximum limit to reach the purpose of correct receiving. Calculation volume of the invention is limited, with present commercial DSP it can be implemented thoroughly.
Although the method of the invention points to mobile communication systems with CDMA, it can be also be used in mobile communication systems with frequency division multiple access (FDMA) and time division multiple access (TDMA).